Now it’s time to dream! What will you do? What community will you engage? Write things down and don’t worry how crazy they sound (the more you write, the more you can sift the good from the bad). You might want to look at step 2 to get some ideas for what you’ll have to submit.

Submit your idea. Have one person on your team fill out the idea submission form by Friday, December 1, 2017.

Has everyone registered? This is a good time to double check that everyone on your project team has registered individually and agreed to the terms of Confidentiality and Conditions of Participation. You can submit your idea before everyone registers, but everyone on your team must be registered by December 1, 2017 in order to be eligible to participate.

Briefly describe your idea, outline its goals, and tell us what community you will be working in.

How will the implementation of your idea increase community-student engagement, and what impact will it have on your selected community?

What motivated your team to enter the SFU Student Community Engagement Competition?

The deadline for idea submission is December 1, 2017!

Note: if your team submits more than one “version” of the same idea, we reserve the right to choose which one we will evaluate. And remember – your ability to stay organized will say something about how viable your project is, so please attend to your idea submission with the care it deserves!

Once the Step 2 deadline has passed, all idea submissions will be reviewed by an internal team of jurors. Those teams whose project ideas represent the most promise and the best spirit of this competition will be contacted in mid-December and invited to submit a detailed proposal (next step).

We will attempt to provide feedback to those teams who are not invited to continue on to Step 3, but due to the work required to evaluate all idea submissions, we cannot guarantee this. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t keep trying to develop your idea! After all, we can’t accept every proposal (even if we might want to!) – don’t let us get in the way of doing something amazing in this world.

Submit a detailed proposal by January 15, 2018.

Now it’s time to get down to some work. Teams invited to submit detailed proposals will be provided with specific requirements at that time. It’s important that you convey your ideas clearly and that any plans you provide have been thought through well. And above all, your detailed proposal must reflect the intention and spirit of this competition!

You may want to start preparing this with your team well before your idea submission is evaluated. Consider the evaluation criteria for project selection, consider past finalists, and think about the kinds of things you’ll need (and need to know) to both implement your project and measure its impact.

When the Step 3 deadline has passed, detailed proposals will be reviewed and a set of finalists will be chosen for projects in Burnaby, and another for projects in Surrey.

Finalists will be invited to attend a special dialogue event about the value of grassroots initiatives and citizen-led projects for increasing community resiliency.

This event will be great. Not only will you have the chance to present your idea to a panel of judges representing faculty, students, community members, alumni and business leaders, but you will do so publicly in front of an audience interested in the issues and challenges you are trying to address. Winners will be selected live at the event.

From there, it is up to you…

“And now it's your turn – the time to answer the greatest challenge of our existence on this planet is now” ~ Leonardo DiCaprio

This is where the story of implementing your project begins, and we will be with you every step of the way to provide logistical support, connect you with faculty and community organizations if necessary, and to cheer you on as your biggest fans.

Because, in all honesty: you make us look good!

Finally, this is a good time to review the terms of Confidentiality and Conditions of Participation that you and your teammates agreed to. An important part of your project is the story of it – how it goes, who you impact, why. If you win an award, you may be asked to provide photos or reports on your successes. A huge part of having impact in the world is ensuring that the world knows about it.